Chapter 4

Smack!

Stella hadn’t meant to hit him.

It had been pure instinct.

Watching the red handprint quickly appear on Eric’s face, she swallowed nervously, fumbling with her seat belt as she tried to escape.

Eric blocked the door like a wall.

“Hmph. Feel better now?”

Stella’s face was pale.

She had no idea whether she felt better, but she had a strong feeling he was about to lose his mind.

So she stopped struggling.

Eric buckled her seat belt again, then walked around to the driver’s side.

The Cullinan merged into traffic.

The car was so quiet it was almost suffocating.

Half an hour later, they pulled into an upscale apartment complex downtown.

Eric grabbed Stella by the wrist and dragged her into the elevator.

She gave up fighting.

“Do whatever you want. Just give me the bracelet afterward, okay?”

Eric ignored her.

The elevator stopped at the top floor.

This time, Stella followed him out on her own.

They’d already slept together once.

What difference would a second time make?

She’d just pretend she’d been bitten by a rabid dog again.

Having resigned herself to it, Stella walked through the door and immediately started taking off her clothes.

She didn’t notice there was someone else in the living room.

Jason Reed was a doctor.

He’d seen every kind of body imaginable in the course of his work, but even he was stunned when a beautiful woman walked through the door and immediately started stripping.

For a second, he genuinely wondered if Eric had set him up.

When Stella reached for her bra, Jason finally snapped out of it. He covered his eyes and shouted,

“Whoa, whoa, stop! Eric, tell her to stop taking her clothes off!”

Eric had been simmering with anger all night.

Stella’s unexpected compliance had actually taken the edge off.

Then Jason started yelling.

Eric turned around.

Stella had already unhooked her bra.

She clearly hadn’t realized anyone else was in the room either. Her whole body froze.

“Fuck.”

Eric’s face darkened.

He snatched her clothes off the floor and wrapped them tightly around her, a vein throbbing at his temple.

Then he turned on Jason.

“Jason. Get out.”

Jason kept his head down and one hand over his eyes as he hurried for the door.

Then Eric’s voice came from behind him, tight with irritation.

“Come back in half an hour.”

Jason was speechless.

At this point, he was seriously starting to suspect Eric had invited him over just to use him as a punching bag.

He got out fast and thoughtfully shut the door behind him.

Inside, Stella finally recovered from her shock.

The realization of what she’d just done sent heat rushing straight to her face, spreading all the way to her ears and neck.

She kept her head down.

“You could’ve told me someone else was here.”

Eric was so irritated by the sheer unfairness of that accusation that he actually laughed.

Unable to resist, he pinched her cheek and tugged lightly.

“Miss Shaw, just so we’re clear, normal people take off their shoes when they walk into someone’s home. They don’t start stripping.”

Stella knew she had no argument for that, so she stayed quiet.

Something about the way she looked reminded Eric of the cat his family used to have.

Proud and aloof, claws out whenever anyone got too close.

But the second it did something wrong, it would quietly curl up in a corner looking obviously guilty.

For some reason, the comparison put him in a better mood.

He gave her waist a light pat.

“Go take a shower. When you’re done, Jason can take a look at your throat.”

Stella opened her mouth, then thought better of it.

Without saying anything, she went into the bathroom.

She wasn’t the type to reject kindness just for the sake of it.

She simply hadn’t expected that when she got hurt, the person showing concern wouldn’t be her family.

It would be Eric, of all people.

Was she grateful?

Not really.

If anything, this injury was partly his fault.

If he hadn’t left marks all over her body, Lucas never would’ve grabbed her by the throat in the first place.

The least Eric could do was call a doctor for her.

She still disliked him just as much as ever.

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say she disliked anyone close to Lucas.

Lucas was a bastard.

Eric was even worse.

Eric watched Stella disappear into the bathroom and tugged at the corner of his mouth.

He lifted the hand that had just pinched her cheek and stared at his fingers.

He could still feel the softness of her skin against them.

Almost unconsciously, he rubbed his fingertips together.

His throat suddenly felt dry.

By the time Stella finished showering and came out, Eric made sure she was fully dressed before calling Jason back inside.

Jason immediately switched into doctor mode.

He examined the injuries carefully, and even with gloves on, he made a point of touching her skin as little as possible.

Stella was too embarrassed to look at him.

“You’ve got some bruising to the soft tissue in your neck, along with inflammation around your larynx and damage to your vocal cords.” Jason adjusted his glasses.

“You might have some stiffness and pain when you move your neck for the next few days, but fortunately, it’s nothing too serious.”

Then he turned to Eric.

“Use an anti-inflammatory cream on the bruising. For her throat, I’ll prescribe some medication. She should talk as little as possible for the next few days and stick to mild foods.”

Eric nodded and took the prescription from him.

Then he said coldly, “You can go.”

Jason scoffed.

“Of course. When you need me, I’m your best friend. The second you don’t, I’m disposable. What a heartless bastard.”

He complained, but he was already halfway to the door.

Once Jason left, the entire penthouse seemed to fall silent.

Stella looked at Eric.

“So, are we doing it or not? If not, can you give me the bracelet back? It’s not worth anything. You have no use for it.”

It was just a cheap little bracelet her daughter had bought for her from a street vendor years ago with her allowance.

But to Stella, it was something to hold on to.

A piece of her daughter she could still keep with her.

Eric gave her an unreadable smile.

“You really don’t give up, do you?”

“I’ve been told that before.”

She stared stubbornly at him.

This time, she didn’t hold out her hand.

She was afraid he might put his mouth on it again.

“Fine. You win.”

Eric pulled the bracelet from his pocket and handed it back to her.

Then he stood and headed for the door.

“Stay here.”

Stella had planned to leave.

But if she went back now, she’d have to knock on the door and wake Cynthia again.

And even if she did go back, she’d only end up sleeping on the couch.

Her life was already miserable enough.

She didn’t feel like making herself even more uncomfortable.

So she got up and went straight to the guest room.

Fortunately, the bed had clean sheets.

She lay down without hesitation.

A little over ten minutes later, Eric came back carrying a bag of medication.

The moment he stepped inside and saw the empty living room, his expression darkened.

Then he noticed Stella’s shoes were still there.

He found her in the guest room.

He nudged her a few times.

She didn’t wake up.

Stella had wrapped herself so tightly in the blanket that she looked like a burrito.

Eric pulled her out of it, tugged down the collar of her shirt, squeezed some cream onto his fingers, and carefully rubbed it over the bruises on her neck.

The ointment was cool against her skin.

She instinctively shrank away and opened her eyes.

When she saw it was him, she turned her head and immediately went back to sleep.

Eric couldn’t decide whether he should be pleased that she trusted him or pissed off that she had absolutely no sense of self-preservation.

He knew perfectly well she’d approached him because she wanted something.

And yet he couldn’t seem to resist her.

Almost as if venting his frustration, he rubbed his thumb over her pale lips several times.

Only when they finally flushed pink did he reluctantly pull his hand away.

---

The next morning, Stella woke before sunrise.

She slipped on her shoes and left.

By the time she returned to her father’s house, the sun was just beginning to rise.

She knocked on the door.

To her surprise, it hadn’t been locked.

The slightest push sent it swinging open.

The living room was brightly lit.

Cynthia and Michael were sitting with Lucas, speaking to him with almost painfully polite smiles.

The moment Stella saw him, she turned around without hesitation.

She had barely stepped outside when two enormous bodyguards blocked her path.

Lucas’s voice came from just behind her, so close it seemed to brush the back of her head.

“Stella, where have you been?

“I’ve been waiting here for you all night.”